Child of Mine
by PhantomGirl1731
Summary: Title should speak for itself...just an idea I had.
1. Chapter 1

**I have two Jumper stories belive it or not. This was something that I haven't seen before...unless it's hidden somewhere and I haven't noticed it yet, and I figured once again, interesting idea. Now, for those of you who know "Jumper" backwards and forwards, including the books, then you'll see I've made one error...I think there might be two but I can't remember what the second was...if you can, think of it as creative license...it works for the story.**

* * *

_Ready…set…lowg._

Riley frowned, _that's not right…_she checked her math, and erased a few answers.

_Ready, set, glow!_

"That's more like it," Riley grinned. _Ah, second grade…simple math at its finest_. Her mother had been showing her higher level math problems…just to see how much she could really do. This was cake compared to those problems…

"You got the answer?" Her friend Grace asked. "I can't ever seem to get this."

"You will," Riley said. "Look, it's easy, it's just simple borrowing."

"Oh…" Grace's cheeks turned pink. "How is it that it seems simple for you, but not for me?"

"I dunno, I like math…love drawing more, but math is easy. It either works or it doesn't," Riley shrugged.

"Riley," The teacher suddenly called her name.

"Yes Ms. Note?" Riley asked.

"The principal wants to see you."

Riley frowned, thinking. She hadn't done anything…today at least. "Whatever it is, I didn't do it."

"If this is about that frog, it really was those fifth graders—" Grace chimed in, instantly coming to the defense of her friend.

"He mentioned something about your immunization records," Ms. Note said. "You don't have all your shots or something," The teacher added.

_I know what immunization means, my mother told me,_ Riley thought, _she also told me to listen for weird questions._ "I've had all of my shots…"

"Must be some misunderstanding then," Ms. Note shrugged.

So now Riley was following the teacher, heading for the principal's office, backpack slung over her shoulder. Ms. Note had told her she probably wouldn't need it, but Riley had the feeling she'd need an easy escape…and she needed her backpack for it.

"Sit down, Riley," Principal Shane said, smiling innocently.

Riley frowned, but sat down in the chair across from his desk. _A first name basis with me? Okay, I might have been here once or twice, but never enough for a first name basis…_that was when she noticed the man and woman standing behind him. Both wore suits, and smiled at her…smiles that were completely fake.

"Riley, these two nice people would like you to come with them," The Principal said calmly.

"Why?" Riley asked.

"We just need to talk to you, Riley," The woman said. She handed Riley a water bottle, "Would you like a drink?"

Riley took the bottle, but didn't open it, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna trust you with this."

"Riley, please, just listen to the nice woman," Ms. Note said.

Riley frowned, "I'm seven, not stupid."

"I understand that, Riley," Ms. Note said tiredly, "But you really need to go with them."

"In your dreams!" Riley snapped. "Not unless you tell me what's going on."

"We don't have time for this," The man said. He pulled something out of his pocket, but Riley jumped as she heard the sound of rushing air.

Central Park appeared in front of her eyes, and she was gasping for breath. They knew what she was…what she could do.

Her mother had told her about that…and where she should go if someone came for her…

Riley closed her eyes, and imagined the place…her mother had sketched it, made her memorize it. When nothing happened, Riley feared maybe that wasn't enough…

Then she landed in a cave, and her knees gave out.

"What…?" her limbs felt like lead, but she forced her hand to her arm. Something stuck out, and Riley pulled on it. The dart fell from her limp fingers, before she fell forward and hit the stone floor.

* * *

**Sooooo...should I continue? Or should this be filed away and never see the light of day again?**


	2. Chapter 2

Riley scrunched her eyes shut, not wanting to wake up. Her head was throbbing; limbs felt like jell-o…she groaned quietly, turning over onto her side.

"Still alive, are you?"

Riley's eyes shot open when she heard the voice. She didn't know someone was living here…she sat up, and her stomach churned, "Oy…" She wrapped an arm around her stomach as she groaned.

"No, none of that!" The speaker, British if his accent was any indication, snapped. "You already puked once; you don't need to do it again!"

Riley frowned, "What?"

"Don't puke again," he said simply.

"Trying very hard not to," Riley said. "Where am I?"

He raised his eyebrows, "My lair."

Riley raised her own eyebrows, "Lair?" She looked around. Stone walls and floor, sketches, maps, and articles tacked onto a make-shift wall behind two computer monitors, a chair, a TV, a safe…"Sounds about right."

"You wanna tell me what you're doin' here? This isn't a play land…kids don't belong here."

"Thanks for the warning," Riley rolled her eyes. "Look, I didn't know you lived here…I was just told to…come here."

"You mean jump," he said. "You jumped here."

Riley went quiet then, frowning at him.

The young man rolled his eyes, "You know, jump!"

Riley jerked backward when he vanished and reappeared near the computer desk, then back to his spot a few feet from her.

"Did you think you were the only one?"

Riley shrugged, "Never really crossed my mind…just…usually nobody knows I can do that…and I've been told that those that do know usually want to kill me."

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," he nodded. "Look, kid, I don't know who sent you here…or how you got here in the first place—"

"My mom gave me a sketch…told me if I was in trouble to come here."

"Your mum?" he asked. "Look, nobody but another jumper…and his little girlfriend…have been here."

Riley sighed, "I don't know…my mom said she'd been here before…I mean, I'm assuming she's been here before. I guess I had to have…don't remember it, but still…I'm here, aren't I?"

"Kid, I have never seen you before…and furthermore, you got a name?"

"Do you?"

"Yeah, but I asked you first."

She shrugged, "Riley O'Conner."

"What?"

"That's my name."

"Your last name's O'Conner?"

"Are you hard of hearing? Yeah, my last name's O'Conner," Riley rolled her eyes. "Now…you got a name?"

"Griffin…"

"Griffin what?"

"Just Griffin," He said, looking at her differently now.

"What?" Riley demanded, getting a little irritated of being stared at.

"Nothin'…you've just got weird ears…" Griffin said. "I mean they kinda stick out like the handles on a sugar bowl…"

Riley scowled and pulled her light brown hair over her ears, "Thanks Dumbo."

"Hey, my ears are distinctive!"

"Distinctively large," Riley said.

"Yours aren't exactly tiny, kid!" Griffin snapped.

"Well they're not as big as yours!"

Griffin opened his mouth, and then decided against saying whatever it was he was going to say. He sighed before asking, "Who did you say your mother was?"

"I didn't," Riley said, folding her arms.

"Well…who is your mother?" Griffin asked.

Riley simply folded her arms and looked away.

"What? Two minutes ago you wouldn't shut up, what gives?"

"I don't speak to people that make fun of my ears."

"And you did the same thing to me!"

"You started it!"

"I…you…" Griffin couldn't find the words. He shook his head and said, "I don't know who you are or why you're here…just be somewhere else when I get back, yeah?"

Riley watched as he vanished into thin air. She grinned, "Somewhere else, huh? All right…"

She knew she should jump out of here and go home, but now she wondered why her mom suggested she come here to avoid…_them_. Whoever _they_ were…her mother never was too clear on that part. In fact, her mother never even mentioned a 'Griffin' either…

"I wonder why Mom told me to come here in the first place…?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's the latest part to "Child of Mine"...I hope Griffin's not too out of character. I tried to get him in character. Hope you guys like it **

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***

Griffin jumped back into his lair, "Thank god the kid's gone."

"What kid?"

Griffin jerked around, "What the bloody hell are you still doin' here?"

Riley shrugged, and bit into an apple, "Where else am I gonna go?"

"I thought I told you to get lost!"

"No, you said be somewhere else," Riley said, taking another bite of the green fruit, "I was over there," She pointed at the couch she'd vacated; "Now I'm here behind you."

"I mean somewhere else besides my lair!" Griffin snapped.

Riley swallowed, and blinked at him, "Oh."

"Oh?" Griffin repeated, "You jump into my lair, uninvited, and when I tell you get lost all you say is 'oh'?"

Riley took another bite of her apple, chewed and swallowed. She was quiet for a minute and then said, "Yeah."

"Get outta my lair!" Griffin yelled.

Riley cocked her head, "You'd send a little kid out into the world _alone?_"

"Little kid hell," Griffin grumbled, "You don't sound like any little kid…"

"My mom says I'm like my dad…I don't sound like I'm seven."

"Seven?" Griffin frowned. He shook his head, "What did you say your mother's name was again?"

"I didn't," Riley said, once again taking a bite of her apple.

"Where the hell did you get that from?" Griffin asked. "There are no apple trees around here!"

Riley held up a brown paper bag, "I was at school when they came after me."

"School…your parents don't home school you?"

Riley frowned, "Um…_parent_. I never met my dad."

"But you just said—"

"I said _my mom_ told me that," Riley said. "I don't really know much about my dad…except he was like me."

"You mean he was a jumper too?" Griffin asked.

"That…and he was good at math," Riley said.

"Did the Paladins get him?"

"I don't even know the man's name; let alone what happened to him!" Riley snapped. "So I know a few things about him…but anything that would let me know who he was, what kind of person he was, my mom's kept it to herself!" She took a breath, "And further more…what's a Paladin?"

Griffin raised his eyebrows, "You're a jumper but you don't know what a Paladin is?"

"Did you know what a Paladin was the first time one attacked you?" Riley asked, raising her own eyebrows.

Griffin couldn't help but notice something familiar about that look. "Okay…I'll give you that one."

"Besides…who the heck attacks a kid?" Riley asked. Her eyes widened, "Wait…they're not gonna go after my mom are they?"

"Uh…" Griffin frowned. Gone was the cocky little brat that jumped in here…now the kid looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. "Look kid, I'm sure your mum's fine."

Riley took a deep breath, "Maybe you're right…I mean, they know my school, but they might not put it together about my mom…I mean, my name's not exactly the same as hers…"

"See?" Griffin asked, pasting his best fake smile on his face. "I'm sure your dear old mummy's fine."

Riley looked up at him, and gave a weak smile, "You know…you look like the Joker with that phony smile of yours."

Griffin's fake smile fell, "Thanks kid."

"Sorry," Riley shrugged. "Look, I gotta go home."

Griffin blinked, "What?"

"I gotta go make sure my mom's okay!" Riley said, tossing her sack lunch into her backpack.

"Look, Riley…I don't think that's a good idea," Griffin said. "I mean…if Paladins came after you—"

"What?" Riley asked.

Griffin hesitated, trying to think of something to say. It was one thing telling David and his little girlfriend the truth, but this was a seven-year-old kid…"You said your mum's got a different last name…could you, _please,_" He stressed, "Tell me her name?"

Riley rolled her eyes, "E.V."

Griffin blinked, "E.V….not E.V. Kelson?"

"Yeah," Riley frowned. "How do you know?"

"We're…um…we knew each other a few years ago," Griffin said, doing a quick math problem in his head.

"Probably before I was born," Riley murmured.

"Oh yeah," Griffin nodded.

Riley's head shot toward him, "Did you know my dad?"

Griffin studied her carefully, seeing his eyes, his ears, and his hair color…all on E.V.'s seven-year-old daughter…her seven-year-old daughter who was a _jumper_ like her _father_.

"You're staring at me again," Riley frowned, folding her arms. "Why do you keep freakin' starin' at me like that?"

Griffin shook his head, "Sorry kid…it just amazes me how much…"

When he didn't continue, Riley waved her hand, "'how much'…?"

Griffin snapped out of it, "How much you look like E.V."

Riley rolled her eyes, "Well that's a given, considering she's my mother!"

"Yeah…" Griffin nodded. "You know maybe we _should_ go find your mother."

"Boy do you blow hot and cold," Riley shook her head in disbelief.


	4. Chapter 4

**Whoo! Finally I have an update for you guys. Thank you for the reviews guys, I'm glad you've enjoyed the first 3 chapters. **

**Author's note on the issue of Riley not sounding like a 7-year-old, a few things...**

**1) I am working on the getting characters to sound their age thing. Most characters I have written though, are in the 13 years on up age range. Riley is one of two characters I have that is younger than 10 years (the other is a 4 year old) - I will try to make her sound younger, at least to the best of my ability.**

**2) I was also trying to make her sound a little older though, mainly because in the book it was pointed out that Griffin sounded a few years older than he was when he was 9. It was kind of my way of adding simularities between the two.**

**And a 3rd author's note...I'm not sure if I have Griffin in character or not. I'm trying to keep him in character, but I apologize if he appears completely out. It's been a while since I've worked on this fic.**

**That being said...on with the story :)**

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* * *

The train rattled noisily on the tracks as the two jumpers sped across the continental US.

"Are we there yet?" Riley asked for the hundredth time.

"No," Griffin said gruffly, not looking away from his drawing.

"Why are we on the train?"

"So they can't track us."

"_They_ are…?"

"They are the Paladins. They hunt jumpers."

"And why do they hunt jumpers?"

"They have nothing better to do with their spare time."

"How do they track jumpers?"

"They have people who are sensitive to jumps."

"Well that's kinda lame…'what can you do' 'I can sense when someone jumps…' ooh, handy skill."

"They probably think it's a great honor to be able to do it."

Riley thought that one over, then held up both hands and gave two thumbs down, "Sensitives equal lame-o."

Griffin finally looked at her, "'Lame-o'?"

"Yeah, lame-o," Riley grinned. "You know…from _'Rocket Power'_."

Griffin raised his eyebrows then shook his head before going back to his work.

"A cartoon…Nickelodeon…you've never heard of it?"

"I haven't had much time for cartoons, kid."

Riley made a face at him, before reaching grabbing her backpack. She got to her feet and Griffin looked up again.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Home," Riley said.

"Do you _want_ them to find you? You jump home; you'll lead 'em right to you!"

"This is _boring!_ Why couldn't we have just taken a plane or something?" Riley whined. "This would be so much faster if we took a plane!"

Griffin clenched his jaw shut. This was the third time they'd had this conversation, _today_…"You know very well why we're taking the train."

Riley rolled her eyes, "Come ooooooon…what's the point of being able to jump when you can't actually jump anywhere!"

"For God's sake kid, if you keep jumping everywhere they'll catch on and—" He cut off mid-sentence. "Look, kid…the world doesn't work the way _you_ want it to. Your actions have consequences…even with jumping."

"Yeah, don't jump or the big bad Paladins will come get me, you already said that."

"You seemed to understand that before," Griffin pointed out.

"Well I'm not home. My friends and my mother – they're at home. So what's the problem with jumping when I can make my leave and be three states away before any Paladin comes after me?"

"It's not that simple kid."

"Why not? You said the sensitives can sense a jump."

"Right."

"So…they obviously can't move as fast as us, right?"

"You'd be surprised."

"So what's the big deal?" Riley asked. "I'm not jumping home, but I could jump—"

"Nearby, set them on your trail, and essentially get you and/or your mother killed?" Griffin asked. _So much for trying not to scar a seven-year-old…_ "Paladins don't like jumpers. This isn't a game, this isn't 'how far can I get away before they catch me'…you're talking about someone coming and in and killing you because of what you can do."

Riley swallowed roughly, "Why? What did we do? We jump—"

"They feel only God should have that power," Griffin said.

"Then why did He allow us to jump in the first place?" Riley asked.

Griffin blinked, "What?"

"Why do we jump then? And why do the Paladins get to choose who should have the power or not? Who died and made them rulers of the universe?"

"I don't know," Griffin admitted.

"Why do we jump?" Riley asked again. "I mean…my mom's not a jumper…none of my family is a jumper – except for my dad."

Griffin simply nodded, _that's something I need to talk to E.V. about…_

"And it just makes me wonder," Riley admitted. "Were his parents jumpers too or—?"

"No," Griffin answered so abruptly Riley jumped. At her questioning look, Griffin added, "Well…_my_ parents weren't jumpers, and to my knowledge nobody in my family could jump. I was the only one."

"So how do you know—?"

"I've met other jumpers…it's usually not something that runs in families…" Griffin thought for a moment, "Then again, I don't really ever recall hearing about a jumper that had a kid…"

"Why not?" Riley asked.

Griffin frowned, "Some of them don't really last that long…and others…probably don't want their kids to be targets."

"Any other kid has to worry about talking to strangers," Riley grumbled. She finally shrugged out of her backpack, and plopped back down in her seat. "_I_ get to worry about Paladins."

"Now you're getting it."

Griffin went back to his drawing, which it took Riley until now to realize she'd never gotten to see it, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Still talkin' to you apparently," Griffin grumbled.

Riley rolled her eyes, "I mean, what're you drawin'?"

"Nothing," he didn't even look up.

Riley frowned, "Can I see?"

"No."

"But you said it was nothing."

"It's nothing that you need to see."

"Can I see if I show you mine?" Riley asked.

Griffin met her gaze, "You draw?"

Riley nodded, "Yep. Mostly cartoons though, but they're still pretty good." She reached into her backpack and pulled out a sketch pad.

Griffin took it from her and flipped through it, finding multiple cartoon characters among the pages, all labeled. He paused on one, "Is that a cat and a dog attached to each other?"

Riley rolled her eyes, "Hence the name, _'CatDog'_."

Griffin shook his head, then closed the sketchbook and handed it back to her, "Nice work, kid."

"And…?" Riley asked.

"No," Griffin said. For some reason, he'd felt the urge to try and sketch the first drawing he'd done of E.V. Probably because the kid showed up and brought that muse with her.

Riley groaned, "Come on!"

"Why can't you just sketch your _'CatDog'_ or what was it…Rocket Fuel…?"

"_'Rocket Power'_," Riley grumbled, and opened her bag for a pencil. She'd sketched out one of the characters from the cartoon, when her ears started ringing because it was almost dead silent. She looked up, "Hey Griffin?"

"What?"

"Are we there yet?"


	5. Chapter 5

**And now, the continuing story of Griffin and Riley...I'm not sure if Riley sounds her age or not (remember she's 7). Since I haven't worked on this fic for a while, I might need to fine tune the characters, on both counts.**

**Disclaimer, I don't own anything but Riley and a few minor characters...**

**I hope you guys enjoy this next update :D**

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"How do you know my mom?"

Griffin jumped, almost forgetting Riley was in the train car with him. In fact, he'd been so absorbed in the drawing he'd almost forgotten where he was. "I'm sorry?"

"How did you know my mom?" Riley asked.

"What makes you think I know her…maybe I just know _of_ her," Griffin said.

"You called her E.V.," Riley said.

"That's her name."

"Her name's 'Elaine-Vera'…E.V. is her nickname."

_Point, kid,_ Griffin thought. "I…we were friends at one point."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…good friends," Griffin added.

Riley looked as if she were waiting for more of the story, "And…?"

"And…something happened."

"What happened?"

Griffin sighed, "The Paladins."

"Oh…" Riley said, and went back to her drawing. "So…you know they hurt my mom's family?"

Griffin swallowed, "I thought you didn't know anything about the Paladins."

Riley scrunched down in her seat, "My mom…um…told me that's why they were the bad guys…"

_Makes sense,_ Griffin had to admit. "I know about that, yeah…" _More like I was the one that caused it…_"Your mom and I haven't really spoken since then…"

An awkward silence filled the car. Griffin sighed again, and then looked at Riley's drawing. "Okay…so that one's…Twister."

"Huh?" Riley asked, looking up at him.

"Your drawing…that one's Twister?" Griffin asked.

Riley shook her head, "No, that's Otto, this one's Twister," she pointed to another sketch she'd placed off to the side.

"The Squid guy?"

"No…I mean, they did call him that in the beginning, but technically 'Squid' is Sam, since he's the new guy."

"And they live in Ocean Shores," Griffin said.

"Hey, you got one!" Riley grinned.

* * *

_"And I _love_ it!"_

_ "And his dad loves it too!"_

"Ok…so that's Cat?" Griffin asked, watching the cartoon cat with the microphone. The thing had black hair, and looked like it was 2 cats stitched together.

When the train had reached its destination, Griffin had checked them into a hotel for the night…partially to get away from the train, and partially because he knew he'd snap if Riley asked him one more time, 'Are we there yet'?

Once inside the room, Riley practically dove for the remote control and plopped onto the twin bed closest to the television as she started channel surfing. She'd been ecstatic when she found the room got Nickelodeon, and smiled as the cartoons began…

Griffin took the bed closest to the door, and having nothing better to do at the moment decided to sit down and watch the cartoons as well…purely to figure out what those drawings were about of course, and to show Riley that he wasn't a complete idiot when it came to cartoons…

Although, judging by Riley's dramatic sigh, he'd been wrong again. "No, that's Randolph. Cat looks a lot like him though…and Cat almost bought his butt once."

Griffin frowned, and thought that one over for a minute. "I'm sorry…but did you actually say that he almost bought that cat's a…backside?"

Riley nodded, "Yeah, see Cat was tired of being a CatDog, and when he saw a commercial for a store called 'Better Bottoms', he went to go and get a new butt. He saw Randolph's butt and wanted to buy it. And Randolph decides to try and be a CatDog with Dog."

Griffin raised his eyebrows, "I see."

Riley went back to watching the cartoon.

Griffin shifted back slightly into his pillow, and waited. After a few minutes he asked, "Well?"

Riley turned to him with a frown, "Well what?"

"What happened? I mean, Cat and Dog are still a CatDog, so—"

"Cat decided at the last minute he wanted to stay a CatDog. Randolph took Rancid Rabbit up on his two for one special, and ended up with two butts instead of one."

Griffin blinked, "Just as I had suspected." He shook his head, _Crazy children's cartoons…_"Hey Riley…did your mother ever explain the ground rules for jumping?"

"Now there's rules?" Riley whined, flopping onto her back with a groan.

Griffin chuckled, "Not exactly. See, when I was a kid, my parents set up a few rules for me to follow…and to be honest it's a way to keep safe from those that are trying to hurt you."

"Like Mom's don't talk to strangers rule?"

With a nod, Griffin said, "Yeah, kinda like that. They're very important rules to follow."

Riley sat up, "Okay."

"The first rule of jumping is, never jump where anyone can see you." Griffin ticked them off on his fingers, having a small flashback to the time he'd previously listed the rules years before. "The second is never jump near home. Never jump to or from the same place twice. And never, never, _ever_ jump unless you absolutely have to," _Unless Dad or Mum told me to, _he thought.

Riley was silent for a minute, before asking, "What happens if you break those rules?"

Griffin sighed, "Bad things happen kid…things you don't want to know about." He looked at the clock and said, "It's time for bed, kid…turn off the TV." He rolled over and turned out the lamp.

"Um…can we leave it on…without the sound?" Riley asked nervously.

"Why?" Griffin yawned.

"Don't like the dark."

With a sigh, Griffin rolled onto his back, "Fine, Riley, just go to sleep."

Riley nodded, hit the mute button on the remote, and then crawled under the covers of her own bed. "Goodnight Griffin," she yawned.

Eyes on the TV, Griffin reluctantly said, "Goodnight Riley."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's been so long since I've updated...got busy with school and work and all that fun stuff. Here's a brand new update, not a lot to move the story along, but it's an update all the same! Check out "Sensitive" - that's been updated as well.**

**I don't own "Jumper" but you knew that already.**

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"Come on kid, does it fit or not?" Griffin called from behind the door.

"I can't tell!" Riley called back.

"Why not?"

"Can't zip the jeans!"

The sales girl stood behind the cash register, a knowing smile on her young face. She'd wandered around the area the whole time Riley had been grabbing anything in sight that she remotely liked.

Griffin sighed, and then walked toward the girl, "Do you—?"

The girl chuckled and handed him another pair of the jeans, "Here you go. I already grabbed them for you."

"Uh, thanks…"

"I was that way at her age," the girl smiled at him again before she walked away.

Griffin woke early that morning and realized Riley couldn't keep wearing the same clothes all the time – at least not her school uniform, it would draw too much attention.

So Griffin took a deep breath, and when Riley woke that morning, he told her they were going clothes shopping, to which she groaned and said, "I hate shopping!"

"Clothes shopping?" Griffin had added. Riley just shook her head and folded her arms.

Griffin sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face.

Now it was 4 hours later, and Riley now had 5 shirts, 4 sweaters, 2 jackets, 5 skirts, and going on 4 pairs of jeans.

More than Griffin had intended to buy, especially for a kid that wasn't technically his, no matter what the math said…and trying to carry all of it wasn't going to be fun. He shook his head, no, they had to downsize. "Kid…pick one outfit you want to wear, and maybe an extra t-shirt, but that's it!"

Riley sighed, and opened the door, sticking her arm out for the jeans. Griffin handed them to her, and then she shut the dressing room door with a snap.

Griffin sighed and rubbed at his eyes, hoping the headache he felt coming wouldn't turn into a migraine because of this kid.

Riley appeared less than 30 seconds later, carrying the pair of jeans, and 2 shirts bundled on top of it. Then she looked to the side, "Wait!" She raced over to the nearby rack and back, handing Griffin a plastic package, decorated in the color pink with a few Disney Princesses on it.

"What's this?"

"Underwear."

Griffin dropped the package onto the counter like it had burned him and didn't meet the sales girl's eyes as he felt his ears get hot, "And those too."

The girl chuckled, "Never taken a girl clothes shopping before?"

Griffin shook his head, and didn't look at the girl until everything was placed in a plastic shopping bag. He paid for the clothes, and the girl smiled at him and told him to have a nice day.

Griffin took his bag and he and Riley left the store, heading back to the motel.

"Thank you Griffin," Riley smiled up at him.

"You're welcome, kid."

* * *

"You're it!" Riley yelled at another child.

The motel they had been staying at was near a playground, and Riley had asked Griffin if they could go to it. Against his better judgment (and lack of aspirin for the ever growing headache Riley was causing him with asking to go) he finally relented and took her to the playground.

Riley had quickly joined a game of tag with some of the other kids, and was soon laughing and having a great time…and getting the jeans Griffin had just bought her covered in sand and dust.

He hadn't even realized someone had taken the other side of the bench he was sitting on until that someone spoke up, "Which one's yours?"

Griffin looked over to see a Hispanic woman with long dark hair sitting next to him. "Excuse me?"

"The kids over there," She nodded toward the group running all over the playground equipment, "Which one's yours?"

"The one in the red and white striped shirt," Griffin nodded at Riley, who was spinning for a few seconds. Ever since she'd tried on the tunic-like top, she'd said it felt "flowy and light" and it made her want to spin. He chuckled, "The one that's spinnin' for no reason."

The woman smiled, "She's cute."

"Yeah…but she's not mine, I'm watching her for a friend." _More or less anyway,_ he thought.

The woman gave him a quick look of disbelief, before she blinked and her smile was back, "That's very nice of you."

"Uh yeah, I know," Griffin said, rubbing the back of his neck.

The woman chuckled, "Well, I gotta be going…see you around, Griffin."

"Alright, see you," Griffin gave a smile, and once the woman was out of sight bolted for the playground. He caught Riley as she'd gone down the slide, "We gotta go."

"But I—"

"Now, we're outta here," Griffin grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. "The people that came to your school, was one of them a woman?"

"Yeah…she had long hair, I remember that," Riley frowned, trying to remember.

"Not much to go on kid," He tugged her around a corner so they were out of sight, "We gotta get lost, now."

"Why?" Riley asked.

"I know Paladins…possibly all of them. That person wasn't a Paladin…but she knew my name."

"So?"

"I never gave it to her," Griffin told her, and jumped them both away from the playground.


End file.
